How it Was In the 1700s, most people wore clothes that were made by hand at home. Can you imagine having no choice but to make your own clothes? All of this changed in 1790 with the start of the Industrial Revolution.
How It Got Started The Industrial Revolution actually began in England. In the 1700s the British invented machines to help them make cloth. This soon gave rise to more machines. Many of these new ideas made there way to America.
Most of the northern United States was not suitable for commercial farming. Instead, people began to look for ways to earn a living. As inventions flourished, factories were built and cities developed.
Two Big Ideas That Got It all Started Cotton Gin Spinning Machines Eli Whitney s cotton gin made it easier and faster to clean cotton. As a result, the United States became a HUGE producer of cotton. Samuel Slater made a machine that turned ordinary cotton into thread.
Having thread to weave into cloth (sometimes called textiles) helped kick start the Industrial Revolution and the factory system as textile mills began sprouting up in the northern United States.
Lowell Mills 1813 Francis Cabot Lowell built mills along rivers, which turned cotton into textiles (cloth). Cities began to grow around these mills as large numbers of people moved there for jobs. The moving water of a river turned a wheel which created power in Lowell Mills.
Mill Girls Textile corporations hired young women, age 13-30, to work in their factories. Many left family farms for a sense of freedom and the exciting life in the city. They lived in boarding houses that were built next to the factory. They worked from 5:00 AM to 7:00 PM with one day off each week.
Interchangeable Parts 1801 Eli Whitney created the idea of making identical parts for machinery. Whitney came up with the idea after being awarded a contract by the federal government to produce muskets (rifles) for the military.
Interchangeable Parts Interchangeable parts allowed for relatively unskilled workers to produce machine parts at a lower cost. This made repair of machines and replacement of parts much easier and more efficient. Henry Ford incorporated the use of interchangeable parts on his assembly line for building automobiles.
Steamboat 1807 Robert Fulton did not invent the steamboat, but he brought the idea to America. A steam boat is able to move faster and against the current. An engine, powered by steam, turned a paddle wheel to propel the boat.
Steamboat Fulton s boats made travel on water faster than on land. The steamboat helped American manufacturers move their goods more quickly. It also helped open up America to additional exploration and settlement.
Telegraph 1837 Samuel F. B. Morse created this machine for communication over long distances. The telegraph transmitted electrical signals over wires between stations. Morse also developed a code (Morse Code) that was made up of dots and dashes for each letter of the alphabet.
Telegraph The telegraph made long distance communication easier and faster. Telegraph lines across the country brought people closer with easier communication
Steel Plow 1836 John Deere invented this plow that made preparing the ground for farming easier. As a trained blacksmith, Deere had fixed his share of farm plows. While doing this he realized a new design of polished steel would be advantageous to farmers.
Steel Plow John Deer s plow made tilling soil much easier and faster. The result was larger farms and more plentiful harvests.
Mechanical Reaper 1834 Cyrus McCormick invented this machine that separated wheat from its husk. Before this, farmers had to cut wheat from their fields with their hands using a scythe.
Mechanical Reaper This invention made harvesting crops faster and easier. One machine could harvest as much as six people could in one day. Farmers were able to increase the crops that were yielded and do it with less farmhands.
Industrial Revolution These new technologies linked regions together. Factories brought people to cities and farming inventions gave the the United States the ability to grow food to support these expanding urban centers. The Industrial Revolution was another of those extraordinary jumps forward in the story of civilization - Stephen Gardiner, British Architect